Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Simple Meals

Now that I have re-committed to the Whole 30, I have been eating very simple meals, a few of them quite repetitively. Of course, this is not necessary. As soon as we get over to Costco and Trader Joe's this week, I will have a few more ingredients on hand and I plan to amp up the creativity level of my meals.

But in the meantime, there are some up-sides to simple, repetitive meals. Ease is a big plus in my book. I am a big fan of convenience. Now that has to be balanced with healthful choices. Let me give you a few examples so you know what I mean.

For breakfast these days I am drinking Bulletproof Coffee: a cup of hot black coffee whizzed around in the blender with 1 teaspoon coconut oil and 1 teaspoon grassfed butter oil. These are healthy fats containing medium-chain fatty acids as well as Vitamin K-2, a very healthy and crucial nutrient which our processed food diets normally lack. (For more info on K-2, please search out my blog entries on the subject.) Along with my coffee, I also have one apple and chicken sausage. These are all-natural, minimally processed, and contain absolutely no preservatives or additives, no nitrates or nitrites, only real ingredients. No added sugar, either. Each sausage contains 13 grams of protein. If you add one egg to this breakfast, you will have a perfect 20 grams of protein which is great for a small woman. If you are a larger person, you might need to eat 2 sausages.

For lunch, I've been having a home made Thai coconut and chicken soup. I believe I posted the recipe for this soup before. It is very quick and easy to make a big pot, then even faster to dish it up each day for lunch. The soup contains everything: chicken for protein, coconut milk for healthy fat, carrots and kale for veggies, and chunks of pineapple for fruity sweetness. The heat comes from grated fresh ginger and Thai red curry paste. I love eating leftovers at lunch. Simple, quick, and easy. Instant satisfaction.

Dinners have been roasted leg of lamb (we purchased most of a whole lamb, frozen, from Costco at about $3.59 per pound) plus one green and one orange veggie. I roasted a bunch of homegrown sweet potatoes for my orange veggie and bought a few packages of microwaveable Brussels sprouts for my green ones. Once the lamb is roasted, dinner involves slicing off a few hunks and warming them up with the veggies. A dab of grassfed butter on top and dinner is served.

An evening snack rounds out my food for the day. My current snack of choice is pistachios. I think the act of cracking open each one individually slows me down (a bit!) and means I end up eating less nuts overall. I drink 1-2 cups of decaf green tea with my snack which helps my belly feel fuller.

Although I haven't set foot on the scale, not even once, I can already tell that my belly has become flatter. I feel much less bloated. I have been experiencing more hunger, but I am convincing myself that this is a good thing. I'm hoping a little hunger means more fat-burning!

If you are on this journey with me, please feel free to share your meal plans, recipes, or tips for eating simple, healthy, primal meals. Thanks!

About Me

Hi! My name is Liz but I'm going to sign my post with the name Balancing Act. I have been a dancer for most of my (middle-aged) life, but I currently teach Zumba, yoga, and Pilates as well as running my own bootcamp. In addition, I am working toward the publication of my first crime fiction novel, a mystery set in the small town of Nyack, New York, where I grew up. I have been exploring ways of dieting in order to maximize my health and fitness for decades. I am writing this blog in order to share my experiences along the way, as well as weight loss tips, recipes, and the occasional joke. Maybe.